There is a duty on airlines to verify ESTA travel information: the transport of passengers wishing to enter the USA without a visa under the Visa Waiver Program will be prohibited if passengers have not received an electronic entry permit in advance from the US authorities.

There is a fee of US$14 for ESTA registration. As it is valid for two years you should register as early as possible. Lufthansa further recommends that you take a print-out of this entry permission with you on your journey. Registration can also be done by third parties, such as family members.

Secure Flight

Under the ‘Secure Flight’ programme of the United States Transportation Security Administration (TSA), passengers are required to provide additional personal information for flights to the USA. This regulation also applies to flyovers across US territory, i.e. flights to and from Canada, Mexico and other countries in Central America, for example, which are scheduled to enter American airspace.

Online input of additional APIS data for entry to the USA

For flights to the USA, airlines are legally obliged to transmit passenger data to the US authorities via the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). This rule does not apply to passengers with a permanent resident permit (‘green card’) or to transit passengers. Besides the passport data, the following information is required:

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Country of residence

Full first address during the stay in the USA:

Number

Street

City

State

Zip code

Lufthansa passengers booking online can enter the required additional APIS data directly at the end of the booking process.

If passengers do not have all the necessary information at the time of booking, they can add the missing details later. By entering their name and Filekey (booking reference) here or in the password-protected area under ‘My account’, they can retrieve their booking and complete their data entries.